The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-05-09

are men VINO nave peeil IOf Ten, ana twenty,
and thirty years bound hand and foot by
evil habits who have never felt the power of
the chain, because they have never tried to
break it. 1t is very easy to go on down
with the stream and with the wind, lying on
your oars; but Just turn around and try to
go against the wind and the tide, and you
will find it a different matter As long as
we go down the current of our evil habit we
seem to get along quite smoothly; but if
after while we turn around and head the
other way, toward Christ, and pardon, and
heaven, oh, then how we have to lay to the
oars! You all have your temptation. You
have one kind, you another, you another,
not one person escaping.
1t is all folly for you to say to some one:
81 could not be tempted as you are The
lion thinks it is so strange that the fish
should be caught with hook. The fish
thinks it is so strange that the lion should be
caught with trap. 1ou see some men
with cold, phlegmatie temperament, and
you say: II suppose that man has not any
temptation. Yes, as much as you have In
his phlegmatic nature he has temptation
TO Incidence and consciousness and over
eating and drinking; a temptation TO ignore
the great work of life; a temptation TO lay
down an obstacle in the way of all good en-
terprises. The temperament decides the
styles of temptation; but Sanguine or lynn
has graphing hook just fitted for your
soul A man never lives beyond the reach
of temptation. You ssy when man gets
to be seventy or eighty years OF age he is
safe from all Satanic assault. You are very
much mistaken. A man at eighty-iive years
of age has as many temptations as a man at
twenty-five. They are only different styles
of temptation.
Ask the aged Christian whether he is
Of +ha ,ofj jat
If you think you have conquered the power
of temptation you are very much mistaken
A man who wanted throne pretended he
was very weak and sickly, and II he was
elevated he would soon be gone. He crawled
upon his crutches to the throne, and having
attained it he was strong again. He said;
1T was well for me'w while was looking for
the sceptre of another that | should stoop,
but now that have found it. why should |
stoop any longerm and he threw away his
crutches and was well again.
How illustrative of the power of tempta
ton! You think it is a weak and crippled
influence but give it a chance, and it will
be a tyrant in your soul, it will grind you to
atoms No man has finally and forever
overcome temptation until he has left the
world. But what are you to do with these
temptations! Tell everybody about them!
Ah, what silly man you would bel As
u
word to the enemy which gate of the castle
is least barred, as for you to go and tell
what all your frailties are, and what your
temptations are. The world will only Carl
cature you, will only scoif at you. What,
then, must a man dos When the wave
strikes him with terrific dash shall he have
nothing to hold on to9 In this contest with
''the world, the flesh and the devil, shall a
man have no help, no counsel!
{l1,. taxt infipaataS snfnpthir1o diffpYept
In those eyes that wept with the Bethany
sisters | see shining hope In that voice
which spa1e until the grave broke and the
widow of Main had back her lost son, and
the sea slept, and sorrow stupendous woke
up in the arms of rapture-in that voice
hear the command and the promise, Cast
thy burden on the Lord and He will sustain
thee" Why should you carry your burdens
any longer! Oh, you weary soul, Christ has
been in this conflict He says: my grace
shall be sufficient for you. You shall not be
tempted above that you are able to bear :"
Therefore, with all your temptations, go, as
these disciples did, and tell Jesus
Again: l commend the behavior of the
disciples to all those who are abused and
slandered and persecuted When Herod
put John to death the disciples knew that
their own heads were not safe. And do you
know that every John has Herod! There
are persons in life who do not wish you very
we'll Your misfortunes are honeycomhs to
them. Through their teeth they hiss at you,
misinterpret your motives, and would be
glad to see you upset No man gets through
life without having pummelng. Some
slander comes after you, horned and husked
and hoofed, to gore and trample you; and
what are YOU to dol j tell you plainly that
all who serve Christ must suffer persecution.
1t is the worst sign in the world for you to
be able to say: ~ haven't an enemy in the
world" A woe is pronounced in the Bible
against the one of whom everybody speaks
well. If you are at peace with all the world
and everybody likes you and approves your
work, it Is because you are an idier in the
Lords vineyard, and are not doing your
duty.
All those who have served Christ, howev-
er eminent, have been maltreated at some
stage of their experience. You know it
was so in the time Of George Whitefeld,
when he stood and invited men into the
kingdom of God. What did the learned
Doctor johnson sayof him! He pronounced
him miserable mountebank. How was it
when Robert Hall stood and spoke as scarce
ly any uninspired man ever did speak of the
glories of heavens and as he stood Sabbath
after Sabbath preaching on these themes his
face kindled with the glory. John Foster,
Christian man, said of this man: "Rob-
ert Hall is only acting, and the smile on his
face is a reflection of his own vanity.n John
Wesley turned all England upside down
with Christian reform, and yet the punsters
were after him, and the meanest jokes in
England were perpetrated about John Wes-
ley. What is true of the pulpit is true Of
the pew; it is true of the street, it is true of
the shop, and the store. All who win live
godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecu-
ton.
And set it down as the very worst sign
in all yoSr Christian experience il you are,
any of you, at peace with all the world
The religion of Christ is war II is a chal-
lenge to ''the world the flesh and the devil y
and if you will buckle on the whole armor
of God, you will find great host disputing
your path between this and heaven But
what are you TO do when you are assaulted
and slandered and abused, as / suppose
nearly all of you have been in your life! Go
out and hunt up the slandererl o, no, silly
mani While you are explaining away q
falsehood In one place, fifty people will just
have heard of it in other places.
counsel you to another course. While
you are not TO omit any opportunity of set
ting yourselves right, want TO tell you this
morning Of one who had the hardest things
said about Him, whose sobriety was dis
puted, whose mission was secuted, whose
companionship was denounced, who was
pursued as a babe and spit upon as n man,
who was howled at after He was dead
/ will have you 20 unto Him with your